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122 mm corps gun M1931/37 (A-19) (Russian: 122-мм корпусная пушка обр. 1931/1937 гг. (А-19)) was a Soviet field gun developed in late 1930s by combining the barrel of the 122 mm gun M1931 (A-19) and the carriage of the 152 mm howitzer-gun M1937 (ML-20). The gun was in production from 1939 until 1946. It saw action in World War II (primarily with corps and RVGK artillery of the Red Army) and remained in service for a long time after the end of the war. Vehicle-mounted variants of the gun were fitted to the IS-2 and 3 tanks and ISU-122 self-propelled gun.
Development history[edit]
In 1936 the Red Army adopted the 122 mm gun M1931, also known as A-19. Unlike earlier ordnance pieces used by the Red Army, it had split trail carriage with suspension, and consequently improved mobility and traverse. The carriage of M1931 had a number of shortcomings though. The elevation mechanism was slow and unreliable; solid-tired wheels hindered mobility to some extent; there were technological problems in carriage production.[1]
Soon after the M1931, the Red Army received another artillery piece in form of the 152 mm howitzer-gun M1937 (ML-20), developed at the No. 172 Plant, under F. F. Petrov. This led to an upgrade of the M1931, handled also by Petrov's design bureau. The barrel of the M1931 was placed on the carriage of a ML-20. The improved gun successfully underwent trials in September–October 1938 and on 29 April 1939 was adopted as 122 mm corps gun M1931/37. Unusually, the new variant, like the old one, was referred to as A-19.
Production history[edit]
The M1931/37 was manufactured by the Barrikady Plant in Stalingrad (1939–41), No. 172 Plant (1941–46). The number of M1931/37s manufactured can be estimated at about 2,450, not including vehicle-mounted barrels.
Production of M1931/37s, pcs.[1]
Year 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946
Produced, pcs. 256 (including M1931) 469 442 385 414 160 245 206
Description[edit]
The M1931/37 (right) stands beside what appears to be its predecessor, the M1931, in the Artillery Museum in Saint Petersburg.
Like barrel of late production M1931, the barrel of the M1931/37 was of loose liner construction, and consisted of liner, jacket and screwed-upon breech. The breechblock was of interrupted screw type, similar in construction to that of the 152 mm howitzer M1910/37. Recoil system consisted of hydraulic recoil buffer and hydropneumatic recuperator, both located inside the cradle under the barrel.
The gun had split trail carriage adapted from the 152 mm howitzer-gun M1937 (ML-20). The carriage was fitted with leaf spring suspension and metal wheels with pneumatic tires. The carriage also featured equlibrator. The shield gave the crew some protection from small arms and shell fragments.
The M1931/37 was transported as a single piece, with barrel pulled back. It was permitted to tow the gun with barrel in its normal position, but for short distances only and with speed of no more than 4–5 km/h. Several types of artillery tractors were used: S-2 Stalinets-2, Komintern and, from 1943, Ya-12.
The A-19 was primarily used for indirect fire against enemy personnel, fortifications and key objects in the near rear. It was also equipped with armour-piercing shells for direct fire against armoured targets. Although not an ideal anti-tank gun because of its large size, slow traverse and relatively slow rate of fire, in 1943 the A-19 was one of only a few Soviet guns effective against the new German tanks, such as the Tiger and Elefant. Testing with captured Tiger Ausf Bs in Kubinka demonstrated that the 122 mm A-19 was capable of penetrating the Tiger Ausf B's turret from 1000 to 1500 m and the weld joint or edges of the front hull plates at ranges of 500 to 600 m.[7]
An A-19 No. 501 was the first gun to open fire on 20 April 1945 at the Battle of Berlin.[8]
The Finnish Army captured 25 pieces in 1941 and also pressed them into service. The same designation 122 K/31 was applied to both variants. Because of shortage in heavy tractors, the gun was mostly used in coastal artillery. Four pieces were lost; the rest remained in service after the war. In 1980s some pieces had their barrels replaced with 152 mm barrels of ML-20; the resulting pieces were designated 152 H 37-31. In late 1980s both 152 H 37-31 and the remaining 122 K/31 received new 152 mm L/32 barrels manufactured by Vammas, to become 152 H 88-31.
Type Field gun
Tank gun
Place of origin USSR
Production history
Designer No. 172 Plant design bureau, led by F. F. Petrov
Designed 1937-1938
Manufacturer Barrikady Plant,
No. 172 Plant
Produced 1936-1946
Number built about 2,450
Specifications
Weight Combat: 7,117 kg
(15,690 lbs)
Travel: 7,907 kg
(17,431 lbs)
Length 8.725 m (28 ft 8 in)
Barrel length
Bore: 5.4 m (17 ft 9 in) L/45
Overall: 5.6 m (18 ft 4 in) L/46.3
Width 2.345 m (7 ft 8 in)
Height 2.27 m (7 ft 5 in)
Crew 9
Shell
122 × 785 mm. R
Caliber
122 mm (4.8 in)
Breech
interrupted screw
Recoil
hydropneumatic
Carriage split trail
Elevation
-2° to 65°
Traverse
58°
Rate of fire
3-4 rounds per minute
Muzzle velocity
806 m/s (2,640 ft/s)
Maximum firing range 20.4 km (12.67 mi)
Många länder haft denna…Östeuropa, Egypten, Syrien…Jugoslavien
Variants[edit]
ISU-122, sporting the A-19S gun.
IS-2 tank, with the D-25T.
• A-19S - Slightly modified variant of A-19 for use in ISU-122 self-propelled gun.
• D-25 - In 1943 a tank gun based on the A-19 was developed for the new Iosif Stalin tank, in particular because the existing 85 mm tank gun utilized in the early prototypes was deemed insufficient; the resulting prototype was the IS-122. There were, however, safety concerns as the muzzle brake on the gun exploded, nearly killing the attending Marshal Kliment Voroshilov. The fact caused some initial resistance to the adoption of the gun, but Stalin supported the decision to arm the tank named after him with a 122 mm gun. The gun was redesigned to address the safety issue and the resulting weapon was named D-25, analogous to the earlier D-5T 85mm gun.
• D-25T - tank gun variant (T stands for tankovaya, ‘tank’ adj.) . In the last days of November 1943, Fyodor Petrov's artillery design team tried the D-25 122mm corps gun on a mounting used for the D-5T 85mm tank gun against a captured German Panther tank. Tests took place in the Kubinka proving grounds (about 60 km west of Moscow). Firing from a distance of 1200 m, [13] the round pierced the front glacis, made its way through the engine block and penetrated the rear plate too. After the overwhelming success of this trial, necessary adaptations were made during the following weeks, and the model was accepted as the D-25T on 31 December 1943. Production started immediately, to equip the IS-2 tank.
• D-25S - variant for use in late production ISU-122 self-propelled gun (S for samokhodnaya, ‘self-propelled’). The variant of ISU-122 armed with this gun was designated ISU-122S.
• 152 H 88-31 - A Finnish modernization, involving the upgrading of the caliber to 152 mm.
• 122 mm armata wz. 1931/37/85 - A Polish modernization.
AMMUNITION: max 20 km
Sgr, psgr(max 4 000 meter),antibetonggr,kemiska granater
License information
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License
Attribution (CC BY)
- Photographer Artillerimuseet
Metadata
- IdentifierART.600108
- Part of collectionArtillerimuseet
- Owner of collectionArtillerimuseet
- InstitutionArtillerimuseet
- Date publishedMay 25, 2021
- Date updatedMay 25, 2021
- DIMU-CODE0210210432601
- UUID73be760e-77a9-4ff1-9289-749f39a3b854
- Tags
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